Vacuum vapor heating system



Aug. 7, 1934.

W. B. vJONES VACUUM VAPOR HEATING SYSTEM Filed Nov. 9. 1927 n Ven for.'

W. B. Jones Patented Aug. 7, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 11 Claims.

The present invention relates generally to va-4 i pecially inhnuseholds, for the reason that it is very flexible for. varyingconditions of weather and of use, and thatv it isxvery economical. The

principle upon which the vacuum system is based, stated briefly, is thatthe temperature of water vapor can be` made. lower than the normalboiling temperature of 212o Fl, by lowering the pressure in the systemcontaining. the vapor. Therefore, a closed heating system is necessaryin order to maintains; partial vacuum.. The temperature of r the vaporis deiinitely. related to the degree of vacuum.- in. the system, thevapor being cooler the greater the vacuum. Two methods are in use forcreating the vacuum, and they are sometimes used in combination.

The simplest and perhaps the most common method is the provision of aheating plant include' ing boiler, pipes and radiators, which plant hasat various places, especially the radiators, one-- way air valves.discharging from-the interior of` the system into the atmosphere. Inoperation the boiler is strongly fired to raiseV a positive (greaterthan atmospheric) steam pressure in the. system. The steam drives.. allthe air from the system through the air valves, which are preierably`constructed. to prevent the escape of steam.

After all or a substantial portion of the air has.

been thus driven out, the fire is checked in order to diminish the heatsupply and to lower the pres-l sure in. the system- As the radi-ationcondenses the` vapor in the system it creates. the desired vacuum. Thedegree of vacuum is dependent. upon the radiation from the system andthe heatapplied in the boiler. Such systems may operate at from 10 to 5inches of vacuum for a whole day, withl the vapor at a correspondingtemperature. Gradually, however, air leaks into the systernthrough thevalves, joints, etc., as it is not possible under ordinary conditions tomaintain the vacuum indefinitely. It is necessary to evacuate such asystem once or twice a day, depending upon the particular. system,. therequirements, and the weather, by raising a positive steam pressure asdescribed.

The second method referred to isthe mechanicalmethod of. creating avacuum as by some suction device attached to the; system. Variousmodinedforms are found in practice, and they include motor driven or'waterdriven vacuum pumps. By

thus evacuating the system it is not necessary to raise a positive steampressure as before described.

Theuse of such pumps is desirably avoided in households, because ofnoise, operating. cost, maintenance and complexity. Mechanical power isrequired which is not always available. Therefore such mechanicalmethods arelimited in; ap-` plication.

One of the great disadvantages of the vacuum system is the difculty ofdesigning and operat ing. eiiiciently a balanced and flexible system forordinary households.4 For example, one radia-V tor may be located at theend of the system and be insufficiently supplied with vapor. In order toincrease the vapor suppliedto this radiator, the fire may beincreased.-V Thiswill raise thesystem pressure, and` also theltemperature so that` radiators which prior to that time were properlyheated will become too hot. Another disadvantage is the inability to cutin a radiator which has been out of service theretofore. Such a.radiator will ordinarily be lled with air, and when it is turned on, thevacuum in the systemwill draw out a part of the air to the detriment ofits operation, and there will` be` little or no heat coming totheradiator turned on. Still another dis-- advantageof the system is the.-slow leakage of air into one or more of the radiators. Thisusuallyoccurs in the radiators themselves'V or at the.- connections to theradiatorsr that is, the air valve, the main valve,.etc. The air thusleaking informspockets, or becomes admired with the vapor, thus.limiting the capacity of the radiator `for hot. vapor. Sometimes themost important radiator in the. system is thus cooled while the othersremain properly heated. In. order to remedy this condition positivesteam pressure is required in the whole systemas first described. ,If avacuum pump is used, as. in. the second method, it can be operated. toevacuate the leaking radiator, thus to bring vapor to it. t

Such disadvantages andremedies as above describedare factors which`operate against a wider use of the vacuum. system., `It is`notfool-proof, and it isnot automatic. It` requires a certain degree otunderstanding to operate it properly, and this is not always to be hadin ,every household.` Q i i The present invention aimsl to overcome manyof the disadvantages above described, and to provide a system which isautomatic, flexible as a whole according to weather conditionaandflexible. as toi eachradiator, to meet the demands. upon it,H withoutmaterially affecting theV wholesystem.

The primary objectv of the invention. is to provide a secondary sourceAof vapor other. thanthe Cia 25 with a control valve 26.

primary heating source for the purpose of removing air from individualradiators.

Another object of the invention is the provision of automatic control ofthe secondary vapor source to sweep out the air which pockets in aradiator.

A particular object is to introduce into the radiator a flow of vaporfrom the secondary source opposed to the flow of vapor from the primarysource so that the pocketed air is entrained and enters the pipingsystem to be carried to a region where it does not interfere with theheating.

Various other objects and ancillary advantages of the invention willbecome apparent from the ensuing description of the several andpreferred embodiments of the invention which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawing.

The device shown in the drawing is a representation of a vapor heatingplant shown in a fragmentary view including two radiators equipped withdifferent embodiments of parts of the invention.

A boiler or other heater 10 is provided as a primary source of vapor forthe general purpose of heating and for driving air from the system ofpipes, radiators, etc. In the present instance the piping is arranged ina circuit from a riser 11 through two branches 12 and 13, and through anair reservoir 14 to a return line 15. Radiators 16, 17 and others (notshown) are tapped olf from the pipe lines 12 and 13, as illustrated.

The radiators 16 and 1'7 receive vapor through i pipes 18 and 19,respectively, controlled by the main valves 20 and 21.

These valves are preferably of the packless type for the best operationof the vacuum system. Air valves 22 and 23 of the one-way type areemployed on the radiators,

` preferably on the end opposite to the end having the main valve.

The radiator 16 is equipped with one form of secondary vapor source,such as the generator designated 24, herein represented as a waterboiler, connected to the radiator by a pipe line Any suitable source ofheat may be employed to form vapor in the boiler 24, such for example,as an oil lamp, or gas flame, diagrammatically represented at 2'?.

p Various expedients may be adopted for supplying water to the boiler24. For example, the valve and the boiler heated until it attains atemperature corresponding to the existing vacuum, at which point vaporwill flow into the radiator. It is supplied in sufcient quantity toovercome the flow into the radiator from the pipe 18. Thus,

the air will be pushed from the radiator into the '1- main line 12.

Since the ow of vapor in the main line is from the boiler 10 toward thereservoir 14, the air driven from the radiator 16 will be carried in thesame direction and will accumulate in the tank. An air valve 28 isprovided for the f tank so that when positive pressure is generated inboiler 10 the accumulated air will be discharged into the atmosphere.

The above described device is exemplary of the principle upon which thepresent invention operates. It is of course practical, even though itrequires attention to operate. It is particularly useful where aradiator is to be cut into the system after a period of idleness. Insuch an instance it may be operated to force air from the radiator backinto the system, or it may, and preferably would be, operated to driveair from the radiator before the same is opened into the system. When sooperated the air escapes through the air valve 22, and the period ofoperation of the system without evacuation by positive boiler pressurewill be prolonged.

In association with radiator 17 a different form of apparatus isillustrated which provides for the automatic supply of water and forautomatic control. The principle upon which operation depends is thatalready described, but the means is more refined and more practical. Inthe improved form there is preferably maintained a supply of warm wateras in a boiler 30. Heat is provided by using the primary vapor line 19as the heating means. In the present instance this line passes throughthe boiler 30 as shown by the dotted lines. The boiler is placed lowerthan the radiator and is connected to it by a line 31 in such a mannerthat condensation from the radiator may drain into the boiler to keep itsupplied with water. By this arrangement the water will be keptpractically in equilibrium with the vapor so that when additional heatis applied to the boiler 30 it will vaporize without delay. In thepresent instance an electrical heater, illustrated by the numeral 32, isemployed in association with the boiler 3G. The heater is connected toan electrical source of energy 33 and is conirolled by a thermostat 34.The thermostat may be located in the room to open and close the heatingcircuit 35, thus to regulate the admission of the secondary vapor to theradiator, or it may be located in association with the radiator tocontrol the heat thereof by a more direct influence apart from thetemperature of the room. It is understood that the electrical heater ismerely exemplary, and, that a thermostat may be employed to control anyother type of heating means, such as a gas or oil name.

It is to be noted particularly that the boiler 30 is placed beneath thefloor, that is, in the present instance it is located in the basement ofthe house directly beneath the radiator. A gas or other fuel supply maybe desirable in this instance for when the main valve 21 is closed theradiator and the boiler constitute an independent heating system whichcan be used at any time regardless of the operation of the main heaterl0. For such use, the boiler o0 should be equipped with sight example,when positive pressure is carried for the evacuating period, the body ofwater in the boiler 3G will assume the temperature corresponding to thepressure carried, or substantially that, depending upon how well boiler30 is insulated against radiation. Upon diminishing the fire, theincreasing vacuum will vaporize a part of the water to keep equilibrium,thus lowering its temperature. Thus, when the supply of vapor from theboiler 10 is reduced it is augmented by the heat reserved in boiler 30.The extent to which this takes place will depend upon the capacity ofthe boiler 30, and if desired this can be so increased that it will forma material contribution to the heating.

It is to be understood that the invention is not Las'.

limited tothe disclosures herein made, `and furthe'r, `that there may bevarious modiiications -in the' airfsweeping systems and in the heating`system-gerrerallyy For example, the return line 15, `entering theboiler i belowthewater levelis -no essentialpart of theco'mbinati'on.Itfis shown only-furthereason-that the circuit line 12 dips downfiromthe "boiler-riser ilto allow the condensate to flow in thesamedirec'tionas thevapor. The mainfvapor lines might run at an upward `incline from'the boiler in which instancefthe reservoir'l would befplaced anywherealong the line beyond the take-offior the particular radiator orradiators'- eduippedwith air sweeping means. It" is further to beunderstood that the tank may be dispensed with as an air chamber, andother radiators at or near the end of the vapor main be usedlto' providea reservoirspace for air. Accordingly, in the appended claims when theterm reservoir is employed, it refers to any meanspipes, radiators,tanks or otherwise-that forms sumcient reserve space for accumulatingthe air; and the sufficiency of reserve space will depend upontheparticular installation and the particular manner in which it isdesired to run the installation under normal conditions.

In the appended claims I have used the terms air, vapor and gas, andhave referred to pressure of gas. By gas I mean either air, vapor, orboth in admixture, and by gas pressure, I refer to the pressure of themixture of the pure gas such as air or vapor. In so doing I aim todistinguish total pressure in the radiator from partial pressures of airor vapor where there is an admixture.

I claim:

l. The method of removing air from a heating radiator in a closed systemcontaining air at a i sub-atmospheric pressure which is connected at apoint to a sub-atmospheric pressure supply of 1 heated water vapor forheating said radiator,

which comprises admitting into said radiator at a different point anauxiliary supply of water vapor at a higher pressure than exists in saidradiator, whereby air in the radiator is removed z from the radiator byway of the connection to said nrst supply, and thereafter cutting ofithe flow oi said auxiliary vapor.

2. The method of removing air from a heating radiator in a closed systemcontaining air at a sub-atmospheric pressure which is connected at apoint to a sub-atmospheric pressure supply of heated water vapor forheating said radiator, which comprises admitting into said radiator at adiierent point a supply of water vapor f' from an auxiliary source at ahigher pressure than exists in said radiator, whereby air in theradiator is removed from the radiator by way of the connection to saidfirst supply, thereafter cutting off the flow of said higher pressurevapor,

and collecting said air within said system.

3. In combination a radiator, a source of heated vapor for heating saidradiator, a connection from the heated vapor source to said radiator,said source and said radiator constituting a closed system forthepurpose of maintaining vacuum in the system, a water receptacleplaced below said radiator, means connecting said receptacle to saidradiator to carry condensate from the radiator to the receptacle and tocarry vapor from the receptacle to the radiator, said rst namedconnection being associated with said receptacle to heat water containedtherein by transfer of heat, and a separate heating means for convertingwater in said receptacle into vapor.

4. The method of removing air from a radiator which normally operates atsubatmospheric pressure which comprises initially supplying heated vaporto the radiator at subatmospheric pressure, separately collectingcondensate irorn said radiator, thereafter vaporizing said collectedcondensate, and introducing said vaporized condensate into said radiatorat a pressure sufficient to oppose flow of vapor into the radiator fromthe initial supply of vapor and to force air in said radiator againstand into the initial supply of vapor against the pressure of the initialsupply. Y 5. A vacuum vapor heating system comprising `combination asource of'heated water vapor, radiators, one-way air-venting means foreach radiator, a Vapor feeding conduit connected to said source, pipeconnections from said conduit to said radiators, a reservoir for airconnected to said conduit ata point remote from said vapor source, allof said parts being connected together and forming an air excludingsystem, and additional vapor-supply means connected to one of saidradiators, whereby to sweep air from said radiator into the conduit andinto the reservoir.

6. Vapor heating apparatus comprising in combination a closed heatingVacuum vapor system including a source of heated water vapor, aradiator, con-duit means connecting said source and said radiator at oneplace, and means providing additional space for vapor in said system;and a second source of water vapor connected to said radiator at asecond place and adapted for operation to supply vapor to said radiatorat a pressure higher than the pressure of Vapor supplied to saidradiator from said first source, whereby said vapor at higher pressuremay iorce any air in said radiator into said additional space.

7. Vapor heating apparatus comprising in cornbination a closed heatingvacuum vapor system including a source of heated water vapor, aradiator, conduit means connecting said source and said radiator at oneplace, and means providing additional space for vapor in said system; asecond source of water vapor connected to said radiator at a secondplace and adapted for operation to supply vapor to said radiator at apressure higher than the pressure of vapor supplied to said radiatorfrom said rst source, whereby said vapor at higher pressure may forceany air in said radiator into said additional space, and a thermostaticcontrol device associated with said second source for controlling theoperation thereof.

8. Vapor heating apparatus comprising in combination a closed vacuumvapor system including a source of heated water vapor, a radiator,conduit means connecting said source to said radiator at one place, andmeans providing additional space for vapor in said system; a receptaclelocated below said radiator, a pipe connecting said receptacle to thebottom of said gi;

radiator at a second place to drain condensate from the radiator intosaid receptacle and to conduct vapor from said receptacle to saidradiator, and independent heating means associated with said receptaclefor vaporizing the condensate for discharge as vapor into said radiatorto overcome the pressure of vapor supplied to said radiator from the rstsource.

9. Vapor heating apparatus comprising in combination a closed vacuumvapor system in- 1 1;

receptacle located below said radiator, a pipe connecting saidreceptacle to the bottom of said radiator at a second piace to draincondensate from the radiator into said receptacle and to conduct vaporfrom said receptacle to said radiator, and independent heating meansassociated with said receptacle for vaporizing the condensate fordischarge as vapor into said radiator to overcome the pressure of Vaporsupplied to said radiator from the first source, said conduit meansbeing associated with said receptacle in heat exchanging relation forheating the condensate in said receptacle.

10. Vapor heating apparatus comprising the combination with a closedVacuum Vapor system including a source of heated water vapor, aradiator7 conduit means connecting said source and said radiator at oneplace, and a reservoir adapted for the accumulation of air, of anindependently operable second source of Water vapor connected to saidradiator at another place for supplying vapor to said radiator at ahigher pressure than vapor supplied to the radiator from the main sourceof vapor, whereby any air in said radiator is removed for accumulationin said reservoir.

11. Vapor heating apparatus comprising in combination a closed vacuumvapor system including a source of heated Water vapor, a radiator,conduit means connecting said source and said radiator at one place, aValve in said conduit means at said radiator, a one-way valve on saidradiator adapted to Vent air from the radiator into the atmosphere, anda source of steam connected to said radiator at a second place andadapted in operation to supply steam to said radiator at a pressurehigher than atmospheric pressure.

W. BAR'ILETT JONES.

